You Don't Know Her Like I Do
by afret2010
Summary: Jane and Maura tell their families that they are dating each other. Based on the refrain of the song You Don't Know Her Like I Do.
1. Chapter 1: Jane

**A/N: So I was driving to church this morning and heard Brantley Gilbert on the radio singing "You Don't Know Her Like I Do". The song is about a breakup, this fic is not a breakup fic, but I loved the refrain and got the idea to do a two-shot, one from Jane's perspective and one from Maura's based on the refrain. The refrain to the song is:**

**Cause you don't know her like I do**

**You'll never understand**

**And you don't know what we've been through**

**Yeah, that girl's my best friend**

**And there's no way you're gonna help me**

**She's the only one who can**

**No, you don't know how much I've got to lose**

**You don't know her like I do**

**For this story to make sense the fic has to be AU in the sense that everything we've seen happen to the ladies (crazed serial killers, bad boyfriends, mobster/absent fathers, etc.) has happened in this fic but somehow each of their families never got to know the other women beyond what we see in season one. **

**Okay that's enough of the ridiculously long author's note now on to the story.**

Chapter 1: You Don't Know Her Like I Do-Jane

Jane sat in the car outside her mother's home in Revere biting her lip and rubbing the scars on her palms.

"We don't have to do this today if you don't want to Jane" Maura offered from the passenger seat of her Prius.

Jane took a deep breath in through her nose and blew it slowly out of her mouth, "No it's time" she stated firmly, "we've been together two months Maura, sooner or later someone's going to figure it out and my mother will kill me if she finds out from anyone other than me. Besides, I'm proud to be dating you Maura. I hate all this sneaking around. I want to hold your hand when we walk down the street together and kiss you good bye at the elevators each morning when you head down to the morgue and I head up to the bullpen."

"Then what's the problem" Maura asked, fairly certain she knew the problem but wanting to give her girlfriend the chance to talk about it.

"I'm worried about how they'll react, especially my Italian Catholic mother. I may complain about them all the time but I love my family. I can't imagine my life with out them butting into it every day."

"Like I said before, we don't have to do this today," Maura said again.

Jane didn't bother to answer; she just opened the door and got out. Maura went to join her but Jane leaned back in and said "I think I better do this on my own. I don't want them to feel like I'm ambushing them and if I bring you with me they may". She didn't mention that she was afraid of what her mother and brothers might say in front of Maura. Her family wasn't exactly known for being tactful when they were upset.

She handed Maura the keys and said "there's a coffee shop just around the corner. I'll text you when it's safe to come back".

* * *

Walking into the door Jane called out "Ma?"

"In the kitchen Janie, you're late. Dinner is almost ready."

Jane followed the delicious smell of her mother's lasagna into the kitchen. "Where are Frankie and Tommy?"

"Out in the garage putting the last of your father's things in boxes for me so I can send them down to him in Florida." Angela replied turning from the stove where she was stirring a pot of homemade sauce. "What's the matter baby? You look like you did that time you broke your Nonna's antique hand mirror she carried with her all the way from the old country."

Jane laughed nervously at her mother's astute observation. "I just need to talk to you and the boys about something. It's not bad, at least I don't think it's bad. I hope you agree."

"Okay baby," Angela said walking to the door to the garage and shouting for the boys to come in the house.

"What Ma, I thought you wanted us get this done before dinner." Tommy complained as they came in from the garage.

"Hey Janie," Frankie exclaimed as he followed Tommy into the kitchen. "What's up?"

Jane took a deep calming breath, and smiled briefly to herself thinking of Maura trying to teach her the benefits of yoga. "Look, I don't know how to say this other than to just come out with it. Maura and I are dating, we have been for the past two months." She said it all in a rush then stood waiting for the firestorm to begin.

Nothing happened. The three of them stood there staring at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. Then they all began speaking at once.

"You're dating a chick!" from Tommy, who seemed both shocked and interested, in a creepy way.

"The M.E.?" from Frankie, who seemed puzzled.

"That female doctor you ran with in the marathon?" from Angela, who's reaction Jane couldn't read despite the fact that it was her mother's reaction that Jane was most interested in.

Angela waved the boys to silence. "You've been dating this woman for two months and your just getting around to telling me?" Angela pinned her daughter with her best I'm disappointed in you glare.

"I was worried about how you react."

"Because she's a woman?"

"Yeah, Ma because she's a woman why else?" Jane asked getting a bit exasperated.

"I don't care if you date a woman Jane, but do you have anything in common with Dr. Isles?"

"What?" Jane responded having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that her mother apparently had no trouble with the fact that she was dating a woman but seemed to have a problem with the woman she had chosen to date.

"You have to admit Jane, Doctor Isles is kind of out of your league." Frankie joined the conversation. "I mean she's got more money than God and she's smarter than Einstein. Don't take this the wrong way but she could date anyone she wants what's doing slumming it with a cop."

"Geez Janie, it sounds like this chick is using you for a good time and then she's going to dump you and move on. Maybe she wants to shock her upper crust family by dating a blue collar woman." Tommy added.

Jane stood there stunned by the reaction of her family. She had expected shock and even outrage that she was dating a woman. It never occurred to her that their primary objection would be to the fact that she was dating out of her social (and intellectual) class. The more she thought about it though, perhaps it should have occurred to her. After all, hadn't she once reacted similarly to Maura's wealth and social standing. It had taken time for her to learn about that real Maura didn't care about money or social standing and to appreciate her googlemouth.

Taking a moment to adjust her argument Jane responded, "You guys just don't understand cause you don't know her like I do. You don't know what we've been through. She's my best friend. She's not stuck up, she's kind and funny and your right Frankie, she's the smartest person I ever met and she could date anyone she wants. I just thank God she wants me."

"Maybe it doesn't make sense but there's no one else who makes me feel safe the way she does. When I have nightmares about Hoyt or the shooting at BPD there's no one else who's gonna help me, she's the only one who can."

"I really want you all to except this relationship but you don't know how much I've got to lose. You don't know her like I do."

By the time she was done with this speech there were tears streaming down her cheeks and she looked at each of her family in turn, imploring them with her eyes to understand, to give Maura and their relationship a chance. She looked to her mother last and saw her own tears mirrored on her mother's face.

For a moment she was worried that her mother's tears were unhappy but her mother soon disabused her of the notion, grabbing her in a huge hug and exclaiming, "my Janie has finally found true love!"

"Congratulations Jane" Frankie said patting Jane on the back. "The doc is quite a catch!"

"Ya Janie, leave it to you to date a real hottie." was Tommy's contribution.

"So when are you going to bring Maura by so I can welcome her to the family?" Angela wanted to know.

"Actually she's just down at the coffee shop. I wanted to break the news to you alone before she joined us." Jane explained pulling out her phone to text Maura to come join them.

"Excellent!" Angela exclaimed. "I want to talk to her about grandchildren."

"Ma!"


	2. Chapter 2: Maura

**A/N: Oops, I forgot to mention in chapter 1, I don't own Rizzoli or Isles more's the pity :-(**

Chapter 2: You Don't Know Her Like I Do-Maura.

"My parents are going to be in Boston next week." Maura said hanging up her phone. "Apparently BCU is hosting a prestigious archeology conference and the keynote speaker had to cancel at the last minute due to a death in the family. My father was asked to replace him. They want to stay here with me." Maura delivered the last sentence with an air of stunned disbelief.

"That's great Maur." Jane said looking over her shoulder at Maura from her place on Maura's couch. "I'm looking forward to meeting them." Jane didn't mention that she wanted to meet the people who had sent ten-year old Maura off to boarding school in a foreign country and didn't bother calling or visiting her on holidays and birthdays so she could give them a piece of her mind.

But as Jane watched she could see panic setting in on Maura's face. "Oh my! There's so much to do, I'll never be ready in time. The house is a mess it has to be thoroughly cleaned and I need to buy new linens for the guest room. Food! What am I going to feed them. I have to plan menus for each meal and go shopping!"

"Whoa there!" Jane exclaimed jumping off the couch and gathering her panicking girlfriend in her arms. "It's just your parents Maura, I'm sure they'll be happy just to see you. This place immaculate, like always. Surely you don't need to go to all this trouble?"

Maura looked at Jane as if she was a child and a slow one at that. "You don't understand Jane, they've never been here before."

"You mean they've never stayed with you before?" Jane wasn't terribly surprised by this bit of news.

"No I mean they've never even seen this house."

"Maura, you've lived in this house for more than ten years!" Jane exclaimed adding another item to the list of things she planned to discuss with Maura's parents.

"I know." Maura eyes were downcast as if she had done something wrong.

Jane let it drop not wanting to upset Maura further. "What can I do to help?"

"Jane, I haven't told them about us yet." Maura replied her mind jumping tracks from preparing for her parents visit to the fact that she hadn't bothered to tell them about her relationship with Jane. Looking up into dark brown eyes she saw hurt and confusion and hurried to explain. "My relationship with my parents is different than your relationship with your family Jane. We only speak every month or so and rarely share the intimate details of our lives."

"Okay," Jane replied, unable to relate to Maura's distant relationship with her family. She couldn't even imagine a scenario in which her mother didn't butt her nose into every aspect of her personal life.

"I'm going to tell them when they're here."

"You don't have to. I mean if they're not involved with your life..."

"I want to tell them, Jane. Our relationship is different than all my previous ones, I want us to be together for the rest of our lives Jane and my parents need to know that."

Jane's smile warmed Maura's heart. "Okay Sweetie, you want me to be here when you tell them?"

Maura returned Jane's smile "I think I'll take a page out of your book and tell them alone and then have you join us when the deed is done."

"Let's hope you can do it with out the drama." Jane had told Maura about how her family reacted to her coming out to them but not until Maura had gotten to know her mother and brothers better and was secure in her relationship with them.

"Sadly, I don't expect they'll care much who I date, they never have in the past."

Jane silently added another item to her list.

* * *

Maura and her parents were sitting at her dining table enjoying the first course of a sumptuous four course meal prepared by Maura. Constance and Richard had arrived two hours earlier, one hour later than they had said they were going to arrive because Constance simply had to stop by a new gallery recently opened by an old friend. They had been too caught up in the experience to even think about calling their daughter to let her know they were running late. Nonetheless, they had arrived and made polite compliments to Maura regarding her "quaint" home and it's "comfortable" furnishings, as if she had sacrificed form for function and made a decorating faux pax in doing so.

Now they were engaged in small talk about the speech Richard would be giving in a couple of days and the gallery they had visited earlier, while Maura tried to figure out how to bring up the topic of her relationship status.

Finally she just blurted it out. "I'm seeing someone new."

"That's lovely dear. Is it anyone we might know?" Constance asked.

"Really, what's his profession? Is he a doctor like you?" Richard questioned.

"No," Maura replied softly, answering all their questions with one word. "She's a homicide detective with the Boston Police Department."

"She?" questioned Richard, clearly shocked.

"A detective?" asked Constance, disapproval evident in her tone.

"Yes" Maura once again answered both questions with a single word. She was disappointed by their reactions but unwilling to show it.

Her parents had no such compunction.

"You're dating a woman, since when are you a lesbian?"

"Actually I'm bisexual father is that a problem?" Maura asked doing her best impression of her mother at her most imperious.

But Constance broke in before her father had a chance to respond "Of course not Maura," she replied giving her husband a pointed look. "But dating a blue collar police officer that you work with, is that ... wise?"

Unlike Jane, Maura was not surprised that the difference in her and Jane's social standing was an issue for her parents.

"Your mother is right Maura, surely this person is familiar with the Isles name and is just after your money."

Maura didn't bother to comment on how insulting it was that her own parents would think that she had nothing more to offer a romantic partner than her money. But how could she make her parents believe that Jane, in fact, hadn't known anything about her family or the Isles Foundation before Maura had told her. Or that Jane's only concern with Maura's money was that she had so much of it, which made Jane uncomfortable. She doubted she could make them understand, but she had to try. She owed it to Jane and to herself.

"Jane doesn't care one whit about our money. I know you don't believe that but that's because you don't know her like I do. You'll never understand, you don't know what we've been through." Maura's speech was impassioned and it took her parents aback.

"Then explain it to us, sweetheart, so we can understand" her mother replied looking into Maura's eyes.

Maura couldn't remember the last time her mother had looked at her like that or really listened to what she had to say but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity being presented to her.

"Jane's my best friend. I've gone through some really difficult things the past few years that I didn't feel like I could share with the two of you." Maura didn't want to hurt her patents but she couldn't lie to them and she wanted them to understand how important Jane was to her and why.

"I found out my biological father is a mobster when I did an autopsy on a young man who turned out to be my half brother, I was almost killed by a serial killer, twice, I survived a mass shooting at BPD headquarters. There was no way I could ask you to help me with all of that. She's the only one who can, she was there with me through all for it and she understands me like no one ever has. You don't know how much I've got to lose. You don't know her like I do." Maura looked up at her parents with tears in her eyes as they sat there stunned trying to absorb everything their daughter had told them.

"I'm not sure how we got where we are now Maura," her mother began. "But you're right, we don't share things like a real family should. I wish you could have shared all of that with us. I wish we could have been there to support you. If its not to late I'd like to fix that."

"It's not to late mother not if you really feel that way, if you both really feel that way." Maura responded with a tentative but hopeful smile.

Her father got up from the table walked around to where his daughter was sitting and pulled her up into a hug. "We both feel that way he said."

Constance joined them and laying her palm against Maura's face and using her thumb to brush away a tear that was making its way down Maura's cheek said, "maybe we could start by welcoming your new girlfriend to the family".

"I'm glad you feel that way," Maura said with a smile. She's joining us in fifteen minutes for dessert. In fact, she's bringing some of her mother's cannoli.

"Excellent!" Richard exclaimed. "I love cannoli and I'd like to talk to Jane about providing us with some grandchildren."

"Father!"

**A/N: There you have it. Reviews/constructive criticism are welcome. I thought this up, typed it, edited it, and uploaded it all in one afternoon so there are probably mistakes. Feel free to point them out so I can correct them. Thank for reading!**


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